Plantago major Linné (1753: 112–113)

Hassemer, Gustavo, 2017, Contributions to the knowledge of the genus Plantago (Plantaginaceae) in the Central-West region of Brazil, Phytotaxa 316 (1), pp. 1-21 : 13-15

Plantago major Linné (1753: 112–113)

Type: —COUNTRY UNKNOWN. S.d. (lectotype [designated by Verdcourt 1971: 2] LINN-144.1!). Image of the lectotype available at: http://linnean-online.org/8760.

Description: —Rosette herbs, perennial, but effectively behaving as annual in warmer climates. Taproot almost always absent, substituted with numerous unthickened (to 1.5 mm wide) cord-like secondary roots; if a taproot is present, it is unthickened. Caudex generally inconspicuous, to 3 cm long, without a conspicuous tuft of reddish trichomes at its apex. Leaves ovate, with a very evident petiole, membranaceous to papiraceous, glabrous to pilose. Trichomes on leaves and scapes ribbon-shaped, compressed, perceptibly gradually tapering towards the apex (types G, H and I); those on scapes antrorse, appressed. Spike multiflowered, with flowers densely packed throughout the entire length of the spike. Corolla actinomorphic, glabrous, becoming rather inconspicuous after fruit maturation. Stamens 4. Pyxidia 6–31-seeded. Seeds very variable, irregularly angled; surface rugose.

Illustrations: —Fig. on page 8 in Bassett (1973); Fig. 149 in Cabrera (1993); Fig. 4L–V in Hefler et al. (2011).

Distribution: —Originally native to Europe, North Africa and western and central Asia, this species was spread by man and became naturalised in most of the world, occurring today on every continent except Antarctica ( Rahn 1996, Samuelsen 2000, Hefler et al. 2011). This is by far the commonest and widest-distributed species of Plantago , globally and also in Brazil. In this country, P.major was hitherto recorded in the following states: Acre, Bahia, Ceará, Distrito Federal, Espírito Santo, Goiás, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul, Pará, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Paraná, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Norte, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and São Paulo ( Souza 2010, Souza & Hassemer 2015). Here I present the first records of this species in Mato Grosso, where it has been collected in four municipalities: Comodoro, Poxoréu, Tangará da Serra and Vila Rica ( Fig. 7 ).

Habitat: —In Brazil, this species has a ruderal ecology, occurring mainly in disturbed environments. It is especially common in gardens, lawns, vacant lots, cracks and crevices, and on roadsides.

Conservation status: —Least concern (LC). This species is common and widespread, and it seems to be very well adapted to human disturbance; in fact, it appears to be strongly favoured by it.

Notes: —The new records were discovered during herbarium revisions.Here, I accept P.major with no infraspecific taxa, as in Li et al. (2011) (see also El-Bakatoushi et al. 2007 and El-Bakatoushi 2011).

This non-native species in Brazil seems to be gradually expanding its distribution in the country, a process that is probably accelerated by the cultivation of this species, because of its use as a medicinal plant. Nevertheless, to the moment there is no evidence of environmental damages or problems caused by the occurrence of this species, which does not seem capable of invading natural environments. Therefore, I argue that P.major should not be classified as an invasive species in Brazil, in accordance to the concepts of Pyšek (1995) and Richardson et al. (2000).

Additional specimens examined: — BRAZIL. MATO GROSSO: Comodoro: Bairro Jardim Mato Grosso, Rua Goiás no 134, 28 July 2011, A. de Lima 5 (FLOR-60914, TANG-1157) ; Poxoréu: Alto Coité , 25 September 1996, N. Somavilla 19 (UFMT-12453) ; Tangará da Serra: Jardim Araputanga , 26 March 2010, E. C. Santos 23 (FLOR-60915, TANG-495) ; Vila Rica : 4 June 2013, Fernando & Reginaldo s.n. (UFMT-40872) ; MATO GROSSO DO SUL: Anastácio: lote 145 Assentamento Monjolinho , 200 m, 20°28’ S, 055°63’ W, 7 November 2008, S. A. Cunha 238 (CGMS-28602) ; Campo Grande : arredores de Campo Grande, terreno baldio, 12 March 1992, U. M. Resende et al. 626 (CGMS-4298) ; Vila Olinda , 21 June 1993, A. L. Batista 1 (CGMS-4698) ; Rua Júlia Anfi 422, 26 July 1995, A. L. Batista et. al. 1 (CGMS-4952) ; September 1999, Ana Lúcia s.n. (CGMS-11433); Vila Esplanada, próximo à Rua 14 de Julho e supermercado Comper , 20°26’35.91” S, 054°37’09.33” W, 29 October 2010, J. C. L. da Silva 1 (CGMS-30038) ; Dourados : 452 m, 22°14.5’ S, 054°49.0’ W, 18 October 2004, L. F. R. de Oliveira 1 (DDMS-5046) ; Jaraguari: Furnas do Dionísio , 20°09’00.1” S, 054°34’24.9” W, 13 October 2008, A. C. S. Brito et al. 57 (CGMS-25470) .

Figures

FIGURE 4. Lectotype of Plantago schiedeana (C.J.W. Schiede 72, P-00609789). Published with permission of Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle.Available online at: https://science.mnhn.fr/institution/mnhn/collection/p/item/p00609789.

FIGURE 7. Distribution of Plantago commersoniana (purple squares, the new record in orange), P. hatschbachiana (red triangles) and P. napiformis (green dots, the new records in yellow); the new records of P. australis subsp. hirtella in the Central-West region of Brazil (blue diamonds); and the new records of P.major in Mato Grosso state (pink stars). The area in the map shaded in blue corresponds to the states in Brazil where the occurrence of P. australis subsp. hirtella had been hitherto recorded.